Takahē rediscovered In November 1948 the rediscovery of takahē, long thought to be extinct, caused great public interest. The New Zealand government quickly closed off a remote part of Fiordland National Park to prevent the bird from being disturbed. Ther ...
Conservation lands The most intensive efforts to save species at risk focus on small areas within the conservation estate, which comprises about 30% of New Zealand. Many such areas are nearshore and offshore islands. Because these have been protected from ...
From the 17 or so known types of Māori kite, only three types have survived. In all, seven original kites still exist and are held in museums in London, Hawaii, Auckland and Wellington. Kites in bird form The manu kākā was designed to resemble the kākā (b ...
Conflict over land The people of the Whanganui River were spared neither the musket-armed invasions of the early 19th century nor the attentions of Ngāti Toa under the leadership of Te Rauparaha. Twice Ngāpuhi swept through the region, once in 1819 under ...
Groups like chambers of commerce and publicly funded economic development agencies are found in most centres throughout the country. Chambers of commerce Chambers of commerce were the first business-advocate groups in New Zealand – the earliest were set u ...
In 1949 New Zealand Railways (NZR) brought its first diesel-mechanical shunting engines into service. As with steam, early machines were British imports. The first mainline diesel-electrics, English Electric DEs, were introduced in 1950, followed by more ...
Tribal lands The people of Ngāti Apa live in the Rangitīkei region, towards the south-west of the North Island of New Zealand. Their traditional lands extend between the Mangawhero, Whangaehu, Turakina and Rangitīkei rivers. This area is bounded by Whanga ...
Disease European traders, whalers and other arrivals brought with them diseases to which Māori had no immunity. As a result disease spread rapidly, sometimes wiping out whole villages. One plague, known as Te Rewharewha (coughing death), killed hundreds i ...
Seaside resorts Memories of holidays at English seaside towns probably encouraged many Pākehā New Zealanders to head to a nearby beach during summer. Some coastal towns and cities with railway stations began to promote themselves as holiday destinations i ...
Transforming the land On his visits to New Zealand between 1769 and 1777, Captain James Cook introduced a number of northern-hemisphere plants and animals, including potatoes, cabbages, pigs, goats and rats. They were the first of many exotic introduction ...
